The Twelfth Doctor
by Cardboard Tube Knight
Summary: The Doctor wakes up from his latest regeneration to find that he is now a she. Short story idea that I got from a photo.
1. The New Doctor

A tingling sensation awakened her. She could see nothing save for a pulsing murky greyish blue. Whatever she was lying on was hard and cold, but it's impossible to be sure. This body was still cooking which is enough to confuse the senses.

"Eyes experiencing—some kind of failure. Smell also completely nonfunctional. Temperatures could be back to front. Taste…" she touched her tongue to the bitter surface that she lay on, "…inappropriate."

The drone of the time rotor and the chirp of the instruments on the console that remind her of where she is, of what's going on. Her eyes focused just as yellow mist subsided into her long slender fingers. She opened and closed the hand to test it. The blue cashmere jacket of her predecessor was too big. Her hands barely poked out past the sleeves and the cuffs of the oxford shirt were so wide she could pull her hands out without unbuttoning them.

She clicked her teeth together and then swept her tongue over them. "Big teeth," she said, jumping at the sound of her own voice. She hadn't noticed it before. Instinctively she tugged a handful of hair into view. Long, wavy strawberry blonde. She pushed herself up and walked to the TARDIS console. Her eyes had adjusted enough for her to work at the switches and levers, but her cumbersome clothes snagged and caught on the controls.

Arching an arm up over the buttons, she continued with her work until a live feed of her fizzled into view on the screen above the control panel. She stood average height with a slender frame. A hand went to her chin, which had been a distinguishing feature, but had been replaced with a more subtle curve. Her lips seemed big, had she hit them on something? And blue eyes. The coat was making them appear even a deeper shade.

"Young, ginger and female," she gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth. "Do I sound American?" She turned to either side to get a better look at her face. "Four things that assure no one will ever trust a word I say again." A strange feeling washed over her that she couldn't remember feeling before. She leaned back against the console with her arms folded. "How did this happen?"

The TARDIS, in response to her inquiry, projected a holographic diagram of how Regeneration effects Time Lord Physiology. "Yes. I already know all of that," she said as she stepped away from the console throwing her arms up as if to challenge the ancient ship.

A line of text stood out from the ramblings of the lesson displayed in the air before her. She read it out loud. "A Regeneration can subconsciously or actively be tailored to what the Time Lord most requires? What do I require?"

_Silence will fall. _

"Oh. Perhaps this isn't so bad. The greatest trick the Doctor ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist—best way to go about that is making the man a myth and becoming…" she cut herself off there as she glanced up at the screen above the console. "Trenzalore still? Best not to dwell in my future." She threw the lever to dematerialize the TARDIS.

The Doctor was forced to feel her way along the hallways of the TARDIS to keep her balance. Regenerations had a tendency to be tricky, this one wasn't nearly as problematic as the last. She headed for the wardrobe to find something that fit.

Maybe the outfit that she picked off of the rack was anachronistic, but that was the point of having a time machine: a grey-green coat that belled out around her waist Victorian style, but the upper half exposed her neckline and shoulders. Two elastic straps secured it just off the shoulders. The pants below the coat were white striped with the same dull green. She changed in the middle of the wardrobe, leaving the clothes in a tight little pile on the floor. She grabbed a parasol, a purse and slipped into a pair of green boots on her way out.

She opened the purse and slid the parasol inside until the length of it vanished into the much smaller bag. The Doctor slung the strap of the bag over her shoulder and headed out to the console room to add the Sonic Screwdriver to its contents. "Sonic in the handbag. Boots on the feet," she paused. "Going to have to work on that whole _talking to myself_ thing."

The TARDIS's _parking brakes, _as River had jokingly called them, groaned. Rain wrapped on the outside of the TARDIS. The Doctor checked the date and location on the screen above the control panel. Earth 2014.

"I'm going to need this." The Doctor hooked a single finger around the curved handle of the parasol and drew it out of the handbag. "There's a storm coming."


	2. A Chance Meeting

**Author's Note: **This is less of a coherent series of events and more of a series of shorts featuring this imaginary Doctor. Just letting people know.

The last thing that he expected when he rounded the corner half out of breath was to bump into a girl dressed in Victorian garb. She flattened against a nearby stoplight pole to catch herself. His instincts overrode the rest of him and he grasped her arm at the midway point between the wrist and the elbow. "Sorry about that," he gave a little nod and threw on his most dazzling smile. "Captain Jack Harkness."

The girl gave a little pursed lipped smile, her blue eyes searching Jack's face in a curious manner. She stepped away from him, ratcheting her arm free. She was moderately tall with long wavy strawberry blonde locks. Her dress reminded him of the things he used to see in back in England before the turn of the last century. Except this left a little less to the imagination. A parasol was swung over her right shoulder.

She smiled fully now and there was a slight twinkle in her eyes. "Pleasure to meet you, Captain," she said. "Though, I daresay we've met already."

Jack lost all concern with what he had been doing before. Then he remembered. He had heard the TARDIS somewhere. It was loud and very nearby. "Miss, I'm on important business. If you could just wait right here I would be happy to come back and…just wait," Jack darted off down the block searching every direction and dodging past pedestrians.

It wasn't long before he located the signature blue phone box tucked between two buildings with wind swept trash swirling about it. Jack sprinted up to the box pounding on the door the second he reached it. "Doctor! Doctor! It's me."

"Jack Harkness. You really don't remember me?" asked a voice from back down the alley. It was the woman from before.

Over the hundreds of years and after thousands of women Jack could honestly say that the faces were beginning to bleed together. "I'm sorry ma'am, I just, can we do this some other time?"

The redhead strode towards him down the alley swinging the closed parasol as she walked. "Hm, I guess." When she was about half way to him and the TARDIS she snapped her fingers and the TARDIS doors parted. "Though I prefer to do it now."

Jack stared at her. "No. No, there's no—no way. You Regenerated!"

The Doctor strolled right past Jack into the TARDIS. "Obviously."

"And look at you. Look at your…and just wow. Doctor, if I might say…"

She cut him off. "Stop it. I'll have none of that. Why are you in New York?"

"We relocated. Torchwood after the whole Miracle Day thing…" said Jack.

"Oh yes, people not dying, conspiracies all around. Sorry, I missed it," the Doctor rambled off.

Jack was surveying the TARDIS. "Even this looks different now. It's more _functional_."

"I went through a phase. Lost some people that I loved. Needless to say I thought a bit of change was in order. Reminded me too much of them," the Doctor said.

Jack nodded. He understood the idea of loss. That seemed to be all that happened with Torchwood for several years there. "So, why are you in New York?"

"I've been beating around for a while. Seeing the sights and I figured I could use some back up. Been a while since we last ran together. You think you're up for a trip?" asked the Doctor.

"Always."

The Doctor twirled the parasol. "Yeah, it was a bit inappropriate of me to ask. I knew the answer the moment you ran up to those doors."


End file.
